Bounce
by Sermione101
Summary: After a swing of unfortunate events, Hermione is sent a mysterious letter. In order to follow the path, she is paired up with a middle aged Sirius who is as stubborn as she is. What lies ahead of them?
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: I look to my computer and think, 'God wouldn't it be good to own Harry Potter?' Then I think, well I live in Australia, I'm 14 and in year 10, I have no children and I get B's in English. Just to let you know, I don't own Harry Potter, but a girl can dream. Also, this plot is kind of based on Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I also own nothing of that._**

**_Setup: 5th book didn't happen; I refuse to accept that Sirius is dead. So yes, Sirius is not dead. Set the summer after Dumbledore's death, they would be entering their 7th year, they are all of age._**

**_Summary: After a swing of unfortunate events, Hermione is sent a mysterious letter. In order to follow the path, she is paired up with her best friends stubborn, middle aged godfather who as stubborn as she is. What lies ahead of them?_**

_**A/N: This is something that has been in my mind for a while now. I have most of the idea either in my head or in paper lying around my room.**_

_**Dedicated to my mum (even though she doesn't read my fantastic stories) because she prompted me to read The Da Vinci Code…which is where I got this fabulous idea.**_

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'_We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give…' – Winston Churchill_

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Summer had not been kind on Hermione Granger. The life she once knew, the life that was _all_ she knew, had completely changed in just a few short months. Life had turned around and Hermione felt as if she was going backwards, traveling into a life she refused to live.

She had seen many people turn into this, and as she looked into her full length mirror, Hermione felt an urge to burst into tears. The baggy clothes that hung limply off her pale frame felt as though they weighed twenty pounds and her pale skin contrasted badly with the dark colours that filled her wardrobe.

The once brilliant chocolate eyes had dimmed to a dull brown, emitting neither sparkle nor warmth. They showed pain, sorrow and guilt, often shining with unshed tears that would never fall.

Hermione was a broken person. Broken exactly down the middle, splitting her into two. Harry and Ron were the same. Voldermort would laugh; cold and harsh. He had achieved more than he could ever have imagined.

He had broken the trio; each one, slowly and painfully, letting them live to make them suffer with the pain of their heart.

Ron and Harry had suffered first. They left Hermione sitting to wait for her parents and apparated quickly to the burrow. When Hermione had opened her front door the next day, Ron and Harry were standing there; blood splattered across the faces and clothing, both of their eyes dull from sadness.

Hermione had gasped. Their stories had been told and the three of them had sat around her parents table, silently crying in grief, waiting for this particular nightmare to cease.

It did not stop. Hermione experienced the pain Harry and Ron had only a week later, in her very house. It had left her cold and empty inside, feeling as though it would all make sense if the world ceased to spin, if God had turned good luck upon them, not pain.

But Hermione stood in her bedroom under her parents' room, feeling empty, cold and completely drained. Since Dumbledore's death, the summer had not been kind. Hermione now knew horrors that could be thrown upon her during the night, horrors that she had never wished to see.

Tears sprung into the young witches eyes as everything around her collapsed into herself. The world was dying, evil was winning the war. How much longer would she be able to hang on by a thread?

That was a question Hermione wished she could answer, but regretfully, she couldn't, and that question continued to hang above her head, plaguing her. Sighing heavily, Hermione moved away from the fogged mirror and towards the stairs; her feet padding lightly against the wood as she made her way down the steps and towards the kitchen.

Hermione picked up the mug she had given to her mother on mother's day a year before and clutched into closely to her chest before sighing once more.

"I can't live like this," Hermione muttered to herself as she placed the mug back on the counter, bitterness lacing her voice. She looked to the kitchen table and moved towards it, eyeing the three envelopes warily.

The top one she knew instantly. It was thick and heavy in her hands as her fingers slid under it to bring it closer to her eyes. Hermione flipped the envelope over and sighed, the Hogwarts crest staring back at her.

Hermione dropped it back on the table, shaking her head softly. Though she was of age, Hermione had the temptation to return to Hogwarts, to return to the one place she felt safe.

But there was no point. This thought popped into her head every time her brain stuck up the argument; tempting her to return back to Hogwarts. But, without Dumbledore, there was simply no point.

She narrowed her eyes at the two remaining letters. One was skinny and emblazed with red letters. The other was thicker and yellow, with only two words, 'Hermione Granger', written across it.

Hermione picked up the yellow one and ripped it open, unfolding the letter carefully.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I've heard about your loss and I'm eternally sorry. I do hope you will not hide away forever._

_Oh Hermione, it has been a horrible holiday without you. Mama insists you stay with us and somehow, she is taking your rejection out on us. I cannot tolerate her incoherent shouts and tantrums anymore. If she wasn't my mother I would shout back._

_I have the most pleasant news, Sean finally asked Emily to marry her. John and I are over the moon. Our only daughter, going to be married and to a doctor…Aren't you excited?_

_You won't miss it will you, your cousin will be very angry. You know how much Emily loves you. Oh, I cannot wait to see John escorting her down the isle…_

Anger flashed across Hermione's face as she ripped the letter to shreds, throwing it away. "Hateful…stupid…spiteful…little…bloody…bitch!" She growled loudly as she savagely tore the letter. "Flaunting it in front of my face, what a stupid bi-"

"Hermione Granger, were you about to swear?"

Hermione turned around as she continued to shred the letter. Sirius was leaning against the kitchen archway, grinning down at her. "Hi Sirius," Hermione murmured and threw what was left of the letter in the bin as she crossed to the kitchen counter. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius pushed himself off the doorway and sat down at the table. "Everyone is worried."

"I would have thought they had their own problems…"

Sirius' grin faded. "I guess they do, though, I've only heard part of the story," he replied grimly as he flicked his wand. He picked up one of the mugs of coffee that appeared and after his first sip he said, "What happened?"

Hermione's sigh echoed though the kitchen. She threw herself into an empty chair next to Sirius and snatched up the other steaming mug. "Which story?"

"Well I heard that Ginny -"

"Then you've probably been told the right story," Hermione told him dryly. "To cut a horrible story short, Ginny was murdered."

Sirius's eyes moved from his mug to connect with Hermione's. "What happened?"

Pain crossed Hermione face as she lowered her mug to the table. "I didn't see it," Hermione started, "Harry and Ron arrived at my front step a day after arriving home. They were covered from head to toe with blood, mud and sweat." Hermione sighed and added, "Their eyes were dull and almost looked lifeless. The minute I saw them my heart broke." Her fingers tapped softly on the rim of her mug. "Harry and Ron were kidnapped and quickly apparated to another place. Ginny was tied up in front of them. Of course, Harry and Ron were pissed, and tried to fight their way out," she told him sadly. "They told me everything went cold when Voldermort walked into the room. He had laughed cruelly and sent a muggle blade across the room, hitting Ginny in the stomach. Harry told me his heart broke that exact second." Hermione paused to heave in a breath. "He tortured her until an inch of death then wiped the blood over Harry and aimed one quick, swift spell at Ginny."

"He murdered her in front of them?"

Hermione's eyes shined with fresh tears. "If he couldn't kill Harry, what was the next best thing?"

Sirius shook his head sorrowfully. "The girl he loved but distanced himself from because he wanted to protect her."

"Exactly. And, being Ron's sister, Voldermort hit two birds with one stone."

"Why didn't he just kill Harry and Ron?" Sirius asked her.

Hermione shifted her gaze to look out the window. "I don't think he wants to kill them. He wants to torture them, break them, and destroy them in anyway possible. By killing Ginny, it was a way to torture Harry without actually killing him," she told him sadly, her gaze meeting with his. "I don't think he actually wants Harry dead."

Sirius sighed. "And what about you?" He asked her gently. "I've heard-"

Tears threatened to fall and she quickly turned away. Breathing in deeply, Hermione said, "Though he may have hit a tender spot in my heart and succeeded in breaking it in two, I know that I will heal – one day."

"It would be completely pointless in asking you if you were alright, wouldn't it?"

Hermione smiled weekly, grateful at his light humor. "Yes, completely pointless."

Sirius grinned before it faded, his lips twitching as her stared at the remains of her letter. He inclined his head slightly, raising an eyebrow and said, "Waging war against letters?"

Hermione murmured something inaudible as she rose to her feet and cross to the kitchen sink, placing her mug against the metal. She winced from the clang and gripped the edge tightly, her knuckles turning white. "They pick the best time to flaunt their shit in front of me," she told him sarcastically, her back still turned and her knuckles gripping the sink.

"What shit is that?"

She heard his chair scrape back as he said this and his presence was soon behind her behind her but she ignored it. "Everything," Hermione whispered softly. Tears welled in her eyes just as she felt solid, strong arms wrap around her.

Hermione turned in his arms and rested her head against his chest, the tears running freely down her cheeks. "They aren't coming back, any of them," she whispered.

"Hermione…"

"They took them Sirius. They came into _this_ house and murdered them, making me sit there and watch," Hermione sobbed, clutching his shirt. "I watched them torture my parents and yet, I could do nothing to help them. I heard my mum scream in pain. I watched my dad fall onto the ground, and I knew as I sat watching that I would never see them again."

Sirius stroked her hair and felt his own heart with pain. "I'm sorry."

Hermione's sobs grew louder. "Just before the killed mum, they looked at me and smirked," she said between sobs.

He felt her stiffen under his hands and her entire body went rigid as she said this. She lifted her nose away from his chest but tightened her hold on his shirt. "I'm going to go after them one day Sirius and when I find them…"

"I know," Sirius whispered, "and they deserve what coming."

Hermione sighed and pulled away from him to move to the kitchen table. "I'm going to kill each and everyone I saw in this house," she told him as she picked up the other letter. "I'm not going to sit in this house anymore because all I'm doing is making them think they won." Hermione tapped the letter to distract herself from the anger bubbling inside her. "The only thing they've accomplished is that they have made me angry."

Sirius could see the pain in her eyes as she said this and he winced. "What's that?" He asked her and jerked his head to the letter in her hands, hoping to distract her from the memory of her parents' death.

Hermione looked down to the heavy letter and saw the words 'Hermione Anne Granger' emblazed in red across the middle. She shrugged and looked back to Sirius. "Well I know it's not from my relatives considering they would never use my middle name. Plus, they usually use the phone." Hermione noticed the shreds of the early letter on the table and grimaced. "Well most of them use the phone. My Aunt Janice thinks that even though I'm a witch, she's better than me and can use our methods of communication better than I can."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow and said, "She sounds nothing like you."

A frown tugged at Hermione's lips as she looked down to the letter in her hands. "That's because she isn't. She is over 40 but continues to live with her mother with her husband and children. They also have a habit of being exceptionally nice to my face whilst telling the rest of my relatives that I would turn them all into toads."

"Just turn her into a toad then. I'm sure her personality would match nicely with the change of appearance," Sirius chuckled, a grin forming across his face.

The edges of her lips twitched but Hermione kept her face blank. "But I know this isn't from her because the one I was ripping before was from her-"

"Completely understandable," Sirius told her.

"-and I know that none of my other relatives would write to me," she continued as she played with the letter in her hand. Hermione shrugged at Sirius before ripping the envelope open, extracting a thick piece of paper.

Sirius watched Hermione read the letter before her eyes returned to the top, slowly making their way down again. Confusion spread across her features and her hands twitched slightly.

"This can't be," Hermione finally said after several minutes. "It doesn't make sense."

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_**Very first chapter of the story is done. I have the plot figured out, some chapter written, most is in my head. Please be nice as I have other stories but I couldn't resist doing this one.**_

_**Hope you enjoyed it and don't hesitate in telling me what you thought.**_

_**NOT A TIME TURNER STORY…HERMIONE DOES NOT GO BACK IN TIME.**_


	2. Chapter 1: In the end

_**Disclaimer: Like always, I don't own Harry Potter and I'm pretty sure I never will. Also, I own nothing of The Da Vinci Code and am very amazed at that fantastic book. **_

_**Greetings. Enjoy the chapter. Chapters shall be short so I can update more often. First couple of chapters are the introduction; the backbone of this story.**_

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'_True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness…' – Albert Einstein_

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Hermione looked at the letter in her hands with utter confusion. She looked to Sirius to see him looking at her before his eyes dropped to the letter. His face mirrored her confusion.

"What is it Hermione?" He asked her and walked slowly to her side.

Hermione frowned and passed him the letter. Her hands continued to shake and she stuffed them in her pockets as she tried to clear her head. The brain she had relied on her whole life had gone limp, refusing to make sense of the mysterious letter.

Sirius frowned as he read it for a second time. "Who sent this?" He asked without looking up.

"I don't know. All it said on the envelope was my full name; it didn't even have my address on it." Hermione humphed and leaned against one of her kitchen counter's. "Why would someone send me a hand drawn map?"

Sirius looked up. "I don't know but I think the right question is who is sending you this," he finished, gesturing to the letter clutched in his hand.

Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her unruly curls. After several minutes she looked back to Sirius, only to sigh once more. "I have no idea. I don't even know what it means." She looked at the letter warily and added; "It doesn't even look like a map."

With an eyebrow raised Sirius asked, "Then how'd you know it was a map."

Her brain throbbed as Hermione tried to think this through. How did she know it was a map? She shook her head quickly and raised a palm to her forehead to ease the throbbing.

"Hermione?"

"Look I don't know," Hermione finally replied through clenched teeth. "It's not as if I saw it and went 'Oh my what a mighty nice map', I just looked at it and tried to make sense of what I saw and that was the only conclusion I could sum up."

Sirius chuckled as he sat down at the table, flattening the piece of paper with his palm. "I agree that it is a map seeing as there is nothing else it could be." He watched Hermione grit her teeth and narrow her eyes at him. "Hey, I was agreeing with you," he told her, raising his arms in his defense. "Why are you getting angry with me?"

Hermione's lips firmed over her clenched teeth. "I have been angry for the past two months, what makes you think I would be nice?"

With a small chuckle, Sirius beckoned her over to the table. "Just try to suppress your anger or, at least, take it out on someone else rather than me."

Hermione approached the table and sat opposite him, muttering softly, "who else can I take it out on?"

His deep chuckle bounced off the kitchen walls and Hermione felt her anger slowly lifting. Sirius grinned when he saw her rigid shoulders slumping down. "Please try to hold in your anger while we work this out," he pleaded softly.

Hermione nodded and they both turned their gazes to the map. "I'm pretty sure it's a map," Hermione mumbled quietly, though having her doubts.

The map was poorly drawn and almost unreadable. Eyeing it closely, Hermione saw pencil marks under the messy black lines. She noticed faint pencil marks at the corner of the page but it had been written in pencil then erased. Hermione squinted to make out the almost invisible words but had no luck; she was not going to find out what the artist had written.

"This isn't a very good map," Sirius spoke her thoughts as he too studied the map. "I think they were in a hurry."

Hermione snorted and folded her arms. "Well it doesn't help it I can't make out what it is."

Sirius frowned and a lock of ebony fell in front of his eyes. Without thinking, he quickly pushed the lock of hair out of his face before rubbing his chin lightly. His frown slipped from his face only to be replaced by a look of pure confusion. "What I don't get," he started, still continuing to absentmindedly rub his chin, "is that anyone who knew you would know you would react quicker to words, rather than a map-"

"Especially a poorly drawn map I can't make any sense of," Hermione added quietly as her brain throbbed harder. "I can't make out what the map is of let alone any of the miniscule street names."

Sirius sent his gaze towards her and said, "If you want to tell me something you could always talk louder. I don't have super hearing."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I said-"

"Oh I heard what you said," he interrupted her and the edge of his lips twitched up. Hermione sent him a glare which resulted in Sirius gripping the edge of the table and letting out a long, low laugh.

"Why are you laughing at me?" She asked him menacingly.

Sirius stopped laughing to grin at him. "Well," he drawled, "not entirely at you. I'm laughing at this entire situation…" he continued, gesturing to the map. "It's hilarious.

"Maybe for you," Hermione retorted with a clipped tone. "It wasn't sent to you so I guess it's not your problem."

Sirius raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure of that?"

"Quiet sure," she answered stubbornly and crossed her arms. "Why would it be your problem if no-one knew you were coming to visit me?"

"Hermione, if there is a letter addressed to me sitting on your table at the exact moment, would you class that as me being involved?"

Hermione looked to the table top and gasped. Just as Sirius said, there was an identical envelope sitting on her table. It looked exactly like the one that had graced Hermione's table not too long ago, but this time it boar the word 'Sirius Black' across the middle.

"Impossible," Hermione murmured as she shook her head. "It can't be."

"I guess it can't be impossible now can it?" Sirius asked her gently as her reached for the envelope. He placed the map neatly on the table and tore the envelope open. "But it's always fun to find out."

"Find out what?"

Sirius grinned, drawing out a thick piece of paper. "It fun to find out what's in store," he laughed but instantly, his grin dropped from his face once he unfolded the paper and stared at it.

With a questioning look to the map then to the piece of paper in Sirius' hands, Hermione was almost too afraid to ask what had been sent to him. But she did ask, "What is it?" and crossed her fingers tightly.

Sirius looked up from the paper and his gaze met with hers. "It's blank."

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**_Remember...I love hearing back from you lovely readers :D_**


	3. Chapter 2: Friday Night

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I own The Da Vinci Code. Such a shame…_**

_**Greetings again. Thought I might update again so here it is.**_

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'_Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to lose…' – Kevin Arnold_

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The fear dropped from Hermione's face. "What do you mean it's blank?" She asked furiously, snatching the paper from his hands only to find that Sirius had been telling the truth.

He hadn't been joking. The paper was completely blank, void of any ink, pencil. Nothing.

"I told you Hermione," Sirius told her as she continued to search the page.

Hermione looked to him; her cheeks pink from anger. "What the hell is going on Sirius?" She asked him fiercely and standing from the seat. "I receive a map of god knows what and you arrive. You arrive and we look at the map together then what do we find?" Her question was sarcastic and gave him no time to reply. "A letter addressed to you appearing out of thin air."

In a move that was not wise, Sirius said, "Most definitely not out of thin air."

Hermione rounded her angry gaze to him. "I don't need this Sirius," she snarled, looking from him to the map. "Why is it that when I want peace and quiet I'm face with a map, a blank piece of paper and a stubborn middle aged wizard?" She clenched her fists tight. "I just want to be left alone so I can think things through with my life. I don't need this."

Sirius calmly picked himself up off his seat and towered above her. He narrowed his eyes at her before asking her calmly, "Do you want my help or not?"

Hermione bit her lip. She wanted to say yes, she wanted to ask him to stay with her and help her through everything that laid itself upon her shoulder. Hermione looked to his broad shoulders and sighed. How lovely it would be if she could lay some of her problems upon his larger shoulders.

But she couldn't. The wall that had built around her heart remained strong, unwilling to let anyone in. If she did, there was the possibility that he too would be taken away, just like her parents. No, Hermione told herself, she would keep her problems to herself. Her heart was broken enough. She didn't want to feel the gut wrenching pain that would be inflicted upon her if another loved one was taken away.

"No," Hermione said strongly but she detected a quiver in her voice.

Sirius' face hardened before a grimace spread across his features. He crossed his arm with stubbornness that even Hermione would not be able to muster. "Too bad," he told her smoothly. "There was a letter addressed to me on _your_ dining room table so obviously, someone out there, wants me to help you."

Hermione threw her arms up in exasperation. "The damn paper was blank!"

"So?" He propped himself up against the table and frowned. "That makes the matter worse."

"How could that make the matter worse?" Hermione asked him, her irritation could be clearly seen. "Why would that," she continued, jerking her head to the blank piece of paper clutched in her hand, "make a difference?"

"Because it's blank-"

"Oh yes like I couldn't have seen that," Hermione muttered and rolled her eyes.

"And because it was addressed to _me_."

Hermione sighed heavily and glared at him. "Sirius I don't care alright, I just want to throw these damn pieces of paper out and get on with my life!"

"What life?" Sirius gaze was challenging and as Hermione glared at him his gaze remained steady. "It's not a life I would be proud of Hermione."

With all the control she could muster, Hermione refrained herself from slamming her fist into the elegant features of the man standing in front of her. "You don't know anything about my life Sirius," she growled at him. "This is my life and unfortunately I'm the one who has to live it."

"Do you need to lock yourself away from the people that care about you?" He asked her. "Do you feel you need to shut everyone out and build a wall around you? Do you think that just because you let someone in that they will be hurt or killed?"

"Shut up-"

Sirius continued as if she didn't speak. "Just because someone in your life has died, it doesn't mean that you need to cease living…"

"Shut up Sirius!"

He moved from his position in front of her to cross to the fridge. "Look at Harry for instance," he started whilst peering into the fridge. After finding nothing that appealed to him, Sirius shut the door and swung his gaze back to Hermione. "He has lost his parents, Dumbledore and now Ginny. Do you see him locking himself away?"

Hermione's eyes were blazing as she unleashed her anger. "Shut up Sirius! I don't want to hear it!" she shouted. "Can't you understand that you can't help me? Doesn't the word no even mean anything to you?"

Sirius stared coolly back; his eyes narrowed. "Hermione, you've been through a lot. You've seen nearly as much as I've seen and your reacting as anyone would," he told her. "But it doesn't matter what you say because I _am _going to help you. You can't handle this by yourself, no matter how much you've already handled."

Breathing in deeply, Hermione moved from the middle of the kitchen towards the counter tops. She grasped onto the edge and asked, "Why can't you leave me alone?" Hermione let go of the counter and swung around to face him. "I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's."

"Quiet the contrary," Sirius replied. "I think you do."

Hermione raised a haughty eyebrow. "Why would that be?"

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you," he answered truthfully. "You're taking yourself down a road that will be hard to bounce back from. You're weak Hermione," Sirius told her, "and it would be hell to me to see anything happen to you. I don't want you harmed."

"I can do this by myself," Hermione told him stubbornly, ignoring everything he was telling her. "I want to do it by myself."

Sirius shrugged and approached her slowly. "I don't care what you want to do." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't care what you want to do." He stopped in front of her and shook his head. "I've tried to ask you if you want my help but you've given me the wrong answer. You _need_ to see that though you may not want my help, you're going to get it. Please admit it Hermione," he said softly, "whatever happens I'm going to be there to help you through it."

The anger seeped from her veins leaving Hermione to let out a deep sigh. "What if something happens to you Sirius? It will be my fault all over again."

"I doubt that," Sirius answered confidently. He smiled down at her, happy to see the tension and anger leave her.

Sighing once again, Hermione stepped around Sirius and crossed to the kitchen table. She collapsed onto a chair and took her wand from her pocket, flicking it once so two cups of coffee appeared.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. "You've already had a cup this morning…"

Hermione sent him a glare and said, "I need to think about this and to do that I need coffee. Do you have a problem with that?"

She watched Sirius shook his head and her lips curved into a smug smiled. Drawing her attention from Sirius, Hermione looked down to the map.

Two seconds later her mug crashed to the ground, sending brown liquid over the wooden floor. Sirius frowned but flicked his wand to clean up the mess. He crossed to the kitchen table to stand beside Hermione's chair.

"Sirius," Hermione gasped. "I know why they gave me the map instead of words."

Sirius tried to peer over her shoulder but her thick curls blocked his view. Giving up his attempts at trying to see the map he asked, "Why?"

She looked up to him and Sirius saw anticipation shining in her hazel eyes. Hermione's mouth opened and closed over and over before she shut it tightly, unable to explain what she was seeing.

Sirius frowned. "What is it?"

Hermione gulped; looking back to the map then to his blank letter that lay neatly next to it before her gaze returned to Sirius. "Sirius," she started, her voice shaking. "It's a map of Hogwarts."

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_**Okay so it's a short chapter…little one.**_

_**Review if you'd like, I love hearing back from the people reading my stories…always nice to hear what you have to say.**_


	4. Chapter 3: Keep the faith

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I own The Da Vinci Code. Such a shame…_**

**_I'm so happy because I got my mark for my history assighment back...B+ hehe...yay!  
Well, enjoy the chapter, it's one of my favourites._**

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'_Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending…' – Maria Robinson_

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The map shined a brilliant red colour, rather than in the pencil marks they had seen before. Its lines could be made out easily as could the street names. A picture of the castle was at the very top of the page; every single detail had been drawn. Near the bottom a single line ran down the page before fading.

"This was a page full of weird lines only five minutes ago," Sirius murmured as he looked over her shoulder. "How is it that now it's a map of Hogwarts?"

"I have no idea what happened," Hermione answered. "I was just looking down at it, and then I looked to the blank letter before moving back to the map." She grinned as she tapped the blank letter. "It was this. This is the key to the lock."

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hermione drew in a deep breathe to calm her excitement. "I mean that without that letter," she started and pointed to the still blank paper, "we would've never have known this was a map."

Somehow Sirius' frown deepened. "How so?"

"You're blind," Hermione muttered before breathing in again. "It's as if they are connected. They are the key to one another and we need to use one to solve the other," she told him and grinned. "Just like a key and lock."

"So you're telling me that if we use this map, we will figure out what this," he held up the blank letter, "is."

"Yes."

Sirius shook his head and dropped the paper to the table. "This isn't making any sense Hermione." He moved away from the table to lean against the door frame. "This could be a trap."

To Sirius' disgust Hermione grinned. "You're looking at this all wrong Sirius," she told him enthusiastically. "This isn't your everyday letter. I've been sent a map of Hogwarts and you've been sent a blank letter. If you think logically, you'll see that they have to link; they are the key to one another."

"Hermione-"

"And you know as well as I do that a map of Hogwarts drawn with _this_ much detail is a big deal. It has to mean something."

Sirius shook his head again. "What if it's a trap?"

"Sirius," Hermione said slowly as she stood from her seat. "This map has been sent just months from Dumbledore's death. The person who sent it has involved you. Whether or not this is a trap, it is a big deal."

"You were the one telling me, just five minutes ago, that you wanted piece and quiet. That you wanted to live a life of nothingness." Sirius shot back.

Hermione's cheeks puffed in anger.

Crossing slowly back to the table, Sirius frowned at the map. "I agree. It's big. It's a treasure hunt."

Hermione leant over the table next to Sirius and followed a particular line with her finger, sliding it up until her finger rested on the odd mark that rested just below the Greenhouses. She moved her face closer to the paper to see the mark better. "It's a cross."

"In maps, isn't it always x marks the spot?"

Hermione grinned at him. "This was down by a wizard, not muggles."

"Obviously," he said grimly. "Who else would know that much detail about Hogwarts?"

Ignoring her disgruntled companion, Hermione looked closely at the cross. "The cross is near Hagrid's hut." She paused and leaned over until her nose was inches away from the paper. "It's in the forbidden forest."

Sirius frowned. "It's a treasure hunt and the 'mark' is in the forbidden forest…" his voice trailed of as his frown deepened. "This isn't sounding right Hermione. What if it's a trap?"

Hermione let out an irritated sigh as she shoved the map into the pocket of her jeans. "It points to Hogwarts. How can it be a trap?"

"It's in the forbidden forest. You know what kind of things are in there…" he shrugged.

Hermione raised a brow and said, "I'm going to follow this Sirius, without you or not. I've been stuck in this house for two months wallowing in my pain." She pushed a curl from out of her face. "What if this concerns Dumbledore? What if he wanted me to do this?"

"Wouldn't he have told Harry and Ron, not me?" Sirius shot back.

Hermione shrugged as she moved towards the living room and Sirius followed. "You have seen more than any of us have-"

"Not really."

Stopping at the foot of the stairs Hermione swung to face him. "And if it _was_ Dumbledore who sent us this, he has a good reason. Don't fight fate Sirius because if you try it will bite you in the ass."

Sirius grinned. "I'm not fighting fate, that's definitely something I wouldn't do." He paused and pointed his finger at her. "I'm just saying that if this is a trap, we will work together. I don't want you telling me to run."

"Deal," she answered and stuck out her hand.

Sirius shook it wildly before dropping it. "If this is Dumbledore's work, it won't be easy." He stopped, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "He once caught James and me sneaking into the girls' shower in sixth year. We had to-"

"Do I _really_ want to know?" Hermione asked, stopping him in mid sentence.

A feral grin crossed his face. "Probably not but believe me it wasn't me who wanted to sneak into the girls shower. James just wanted to watch his Lily-bug-"

"Sirius!" Hermione stopped him again. "I'm going to go upstairs to get my jumper then we'll apparate to Hogsmeade," she told him before turning around and practically running up the steps.

Hermione opened the door to her room and squeaked as she felt someone push her gently through the doorway. "Why did you follow me up?" She hissed without turning and quickly picked up her jumper from the end of her bed.

When she turned around to face him, she saw him standing in the middle of her room; hands on hips as he carefully took in every detail of her room. When Hermione cleared her throat, Sirius' eyes connected with hers and he arched a brow.

"Nice room."

Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "My dad painted it," she said nodding to the aqua walls.

His handsome features contorted into a frown but he quickly smoothed it and made his face blank. "Nice," he murmured.

Hermione shoved the dark green jumper over her baggy black shirt and tucked her wand into the pocket of her jeans that was not occupied by the map.

"Give me your hand."

Puzzlement wiped over Hermione's face as she stared at him. "Why? I can apparate."

"I'm not questioning your ability at apparating Hermione; I'm just making sure you won't run off on me as soon as you are at Hogsmeade."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Why would I run off on you?"

Sirius stubbornly crossed his arms. "It isn't a big deal-"

"Then why are you making it one?" Hermione cut in.

Sirius gritted his teeth. "Will you just take my damn hand?"

"Why do you think I would run off on you?" Hermione questioned with an arched brow. "You know I wouldn't do that. This includes you as much as it includes me."

Sirius' jaw firmed and he let out an aggravated sigh. "I don't want you to run at what you see."

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean? What would I see at Hogsmeade?" When Sirius failed to answer Hermione's spin went rigid. "What happened there?"

Silence drifted between them before Sirius sat on the edge of her bed. "Hogsmeade was attacked not too long ago."

"Why didn't I hear about it?"

"It had been a month since your parent's death and you hadn't come out of this house." He looked at her earnestly. "We didn't think you needed another shock."

Hermione frowned. "Who did it?"

"We don't know," Sirius said. "Remus and I arrived moments after Fred and George alerted it. It was horrible," he continued, his face cringing, "all of the shops and houses were on fire. There were bodies strewn across the dirt…" he paused before saying, "this was in broad daylight. I could hear the cries of children all over the village."

"Who would do that?" Hermione gasped.

"The same group that kills muggles for fun, that take pleasure out of murdering people's loved ones."

Hermione shook her head in disgust. "It's sick."

Sirius let out a heavy sigh. "The village is in ruins; there isn't anything left. Most of the owners of shops were killed before being burnt in their own buildings."

"What about Hogwarts?"

"The greenhouses were destroyed as was Hagrid's hut," he answered. "It was lucky that it was the holidays but damage was done…Hogwarts has shut down."

Tears shined in Hermione's hazel eyes. "But Harry-"

"Harry has done the best he can since the beginning of holidays," Sirius said firmly. "He was shaken at Ginny's death but he has been leading the Order diligently since Dumbledore's death. He wants Voldermort dead."

"He should be the one to do it."

Rising from the bed, Sirius gripped her arm. "I agree but there isn't anytime to talk about that at the moment."

"But-"

Sirius stopped her. "Now that I have told you what has happened, can you see why I might think this is a trap? That we may be walking straight into Voldermort's open arms…"

"I have a feeling about this Sirius," she told him.

Sirius once more before saying, "Fine but remember that Hogsmeade is not a pleasant sight, nor is Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded and suddenly felt the pull of apparating gripping her tightly. An instant later Hermione gasped. It was worse than she thought.

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_**Another one down. And someone thought this story was over…ha!**_

_**I'm having fun writing this story and I've got lots more twists to come. **_


	5. Chapter 4: Crazy

**_Disclaimer: Like always, I don't own Harry Potter and I'm pretty sure I never will._**

I'm extremely annoyed and tired. Wow, you lucky dawg readers that I came and finished off this chapter. It's short, I know, but I hope you all are glad that I updated before I left for New Zealand on Sunday.

Be happy, someone needs to have a smile on their dial. DAMNIT! Stupid playschool!

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'_I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel…' – Maya Angelou_

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The town was barren. A dirt road ran up and the houses and shops that once stood along it were gone. The replacement was pile of black wood, bodies of those who had fallen, and dirt. There were no signs of life or colour along the main street. It was bare.

The Three Broomsticks was in ruins; it was a pile of black, scorched wood. Hermione could see the remains of the Shrieking Shack but all that was left were splinters of run down oak.

Death. The air was heavy with it. Hermione knew that smell all to well; tears sprang into her eyes. The once beautiful town was destroyed; left silent and cold. _They_ did this without a backwards glance. _They_ attacked Hogsmeade, killing everyone and everything in it.

Looking at the discarded bodies, Hermione felt anger bubble inside her. She could feel Sirius next to her but was unable to bring her eyes to meet hers. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the ghastly sight in front of her. It made her heart wrench in pain, made her want to kill each and every death eater with her bare hands.

She wanted them dead for all the horrible things they did. She wanted to make them suffer as she did. Most of all, she wanted them to pay.

"They're going to pay," Hermione murmured softly, her eyes traveling from the ground void of any life to the ruined houses. "They _need_ to pay for what they have done!" She tried to move her feet but they were anchored to the ground and Hermione could feel the emotions raging inside her.

"Hermione?" Sirius' soft voice sliced though her rage.

Hermione swung to face him. "This is wrong Sirius! It is completely wrong!" Her voice was almost a shout. "They destroyed something that gave so many people joy."

Sirius grimaced. "They tend to do that."

She turned her eyes from his to her cold surroundings. "How could they do this?" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the now silent and ruined Hogsmeade. "How could they destroy something so beautiful? How could they?"

Closing the gap between them, Sirius pulled her into his arms. "They destroy anything that makes anyone happy."

Gripping his shirt tightly, Hermione sobbed softly. "I'm going to make them pay Sirius," she managed to say between sobs, speaking directly into his chest. The emotions inside her fought to escape. The rage, the pain, the sorrow and the feeling that another thing she loved had been taken away from her.

"And I'm going to be right beside you helping," Sirius replied. He pulled back from her and gripped her by the shoulders. "We are at war Hermione and it's getting worse." Sirius looked around the horrid sight and sighed sadly. "We need to get this done."

Pulling out of his grasp, Hermione wiped her cheeks and nodded. She kept her eyes on the bodies strewn across the ground. Heartache gripped her heart as she remembered her own parents slumped across the living room floor.

"Why are all the bodies still here Sirius?" Hermione asked him as they rounded the corner onto the path that led to Hogwarts. "If the order knew about this, why didn't they clean it up?"

Sirius sighed. "The order is focusing on other things Hermione," he told her calmly though his eyes showed his pain. "Remus and I didn't think that they needed to worry about this at the moment."

Coming to a halt, Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Doesn't Harry know?"

"No-"

"Why the hell not?" Hermione asked harshly, drawing herself up. "Harry is in charge of the order. Didn't you tell me he was running it?"

Sirius grimaced. "Yes, he is running the order but," he held up a hand to cut off her protest, "we weren't in the position to tell him what had happened. Remus and I weren't in any position to tell any of the order what had happened."

Hermione's eyes were blazing as she took a step towards Sirius and they were almost touching. "Sirius," she started through gritted teeth, "the order should have been told. They wouldn't have let the bodies of innocent victims rotting alongside somewhere that is completely destroyed."

"Hermione-"

"Why didn't you let Harry bury them?"

Sirius shook his head. "You have to-"

Hermione clenched her fists. "I don't have to do anything. Doesn't anyone care about these people that have died? Haven't their families been wondering where their loved ones are." Her voice raised an octave when she continued, "If Harry doesn't know this has happened, how are the people responsible for this going be caught?"

"Remus and I have done our best but if Harry found out about this, or any of the order for that matter, there will be no innocent people left to protect."

Sirius knew it wasn't the answer Hermione wanted to hear because the instant the words were out of his mouth Hermione's face set stony and one of her clenched fists smacked into the side of his face.

He stumbled backwards clutching his reddening cheek. When he saw Hermione moving towards him again with a fist in the air, he held up his hand to hold her back. "God please don't hit me again."

"Why not?" Hermione fumed with her fist still raised. "You deserve to be smacked Sirius and seeing as I'm the only one _alive _here to do it; it might as well be me."

"You don't understand what's been happening it the last couple of months Hermione," he told her quickly with a palm against his cheek; "if you did you wouldn't be trying to beat me to a pulp."

Hermione lowered her fist but her eyes continued to blaze. "You keep saying that I don't understand yet you have had a chance to tell me. Stop skirting around the point and just tell me."

"This isn't like the war we had before Dumbledore was murdered Hermione, it has become extreme," he paused and grimaced. "This isn't just Voldermort wanting to kill Harry before he goes along with his plan to kill muggleborns and turn everyone onto one side. He has lost what every little heart he had."

Hermione shook her head. "I know all this Sirius; Voldermort wants to kill everyone in his way and anyone who joins him will live-"

"He's not going to stop Hermione," Sirius said. "This isn't about telling people to join his side anymore, there is no 'You will live if you join me'…he isn't taking any chances anymore."

"What does he want then?"

"Take a look around," Sirius told her as he moved his head to look around the village, "all of these people died not because they didn't join him, they died because Voldermort wants everyone dead." He shook his head sadly. "Wouldn't you think that this place would be a good place to recruit an army? Considering that they are all magical folk. No. Every single person on this earth is now on Voldermort's death list."

"No." Hermione couldn't comprehend it. People who killed usually did it to have their demands met. "He would have to have a purpose."

"He doesn't and I don't think he will again. Something has snapped in his brain that there are too many people willing to fight against him," He grimaced. "This is the reason we can't tell Harry. If he found out that Voldermort destroyed Hogsmeade, he would personally hunt him down and all our effort would go down the drain."

Hermione's brain shut down as if too much information had passed into it. "Why would it be a bad thing for Harry to kill him?" She managed to ask, her mouth dry.

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to meet hers. "If someone ultimate goal is to kill as many people as they can before they are killed themselves, why is there any point killing them? Knowing Voldermort, on the day that he is killed he will take as many people to hell with him."

"Shit," Hermione gasped. "There's no stopping him."

"That's exactly what I told Remus."

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**IMPORTANT READ ME: This chapter sets the mood of the WHOLE story. **


	6. Chapter 5: High

**_Disclaimer: Like always, I don't own Harry Potter and I'm pretty sure I never will._**

I am so sorry for not updating. I just started work. I now have a lovely new niece called Chloe and my schoolwork has been catching up on me.

Do enjoy.

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_'Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow…"' – Mary Anne Radmacher_

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The sweltering sun sat low in the sky as Hermione and Sirius approached the Hogwarts gates. Sweat was running from Hermione's neck and gathering at the small of her back, but it was not from the heat. Her heart was skittering from the thought of stepping on Hogwarts grounds after it was now shut down. She was finding it hard to imagine it without any students covering the lawns or dangling their legs in the lake.

They stopped before the large steel gates and Sirius caught her hand. Hermione spun around to face him. "If you tell me that this is a trap one more time-"

Sirius shook his hand. "All I was going to saw was pass me the map."

"Oh," Hermione answered and quickly fished in her pocket for the gleaming red map, handing it quickly to Sirius.

A frown crossed his features as he studied the map. After several minutes his head snapped up and his eyes were narrowed.

"What is it?"

As if realizing Hermione was still next to him, his eyes returned to normal and he shook his head. "I was just thinking," he said as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

Hermione crossed her arms across her chest. "Like you said Sirius we are in this together," she told him grimly, "so I suggest you tell me what's making you frown."

Her stubborn companion sighed. "I'm just trying to think what the hell could be waiting for is in the forbidden forest," he answered with the frown still creasing his brow.

Hermione let out an irritated groan. "You're not still thinking that it's a trap are you?"

"Well what if it is?"

"After what I've just seen I think I would be pretty happy to hurt someone," her tone was clipped with anger. She looked around her then back to him. "Seeing that no-one else is around it's either you or someone that might deserve it."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You want this to be a trap?"

Hermione threw her hands up in disgust. "Of course not, you idiot. Why would I want this to be a trap?" She shook her head at him. "This is way it is hard to fight with males; they jump to the stupidest assumptions."

"You just said-"

"I just want to find what is waiting for us. If you weren't so damn stubborn we would already be in the Forbidden Forest and we wouldn't be trying to guess whether this is a trap or not!" Hermione told him venomously.

To Hermione's dismay, Sirius simply nodded his head. "Well what are we waiting for?"

The words muttered from Hermione's mouth as she marched past Sirius sounded along the lines of 'stupid idiot' and 'complete jerk'. He ignored it as he followed Hermione with his eyes and watched her pull out her wand.

The huge gates parted.

Hermione turned back to Sirius. "I didn't even say anything," she said in disbelief. "Shouldn't they be locked?"

Sirius shrugged as he grabbed her arm and squeezed through the gap with Hermione behind him. He tightened his hold on her arm as the atmosphere froze. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he looked to the sky to see the sun disappearing from the sky to be replaced by a white curved line. At least he was thankful that it wasn't a full moon.

He let go of her arm and they walked in silence along the dirt path. Night was falling fully upon them and the sky was fast becoming a velvet black.

Struck by the sudden realization that it was the same path the thestral drawn carriages would travel up every year, Hermione clenched her hands into fists and clenched her teeth. She was not looking forward to entering the Forbidden Forest at night. Hermione turned her head to meet eyes with Sirius' but the cool grey eyes were staring straight ahead. Instead, she contented herself to the sound of her footsteps to fight away her eerie feeling.

The castle started to creep up and Sirius stopped Hermione with a tug on her arm. "We aren't going up there."

Hermione nodded without looking at him and turned to walk toward the eerie darkness of the Forbidden Forest. As they walked closer, the tops of the trees started to shake and crow sounds filled the air. Hermione could almost remember the sounds of Grawp pulling up trees.

They stopped in front of the forest and Hermione shivered. "God I am not looking forward to this." Hermione told Sirius as she stared into the darkness.

"Do you want to stay here then?"

Hermione glared at him. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" She asked him and, without waiting for an answer, plunging into the forest.

Twigs crunched under her feet and she felt Sirius walk behind her as they headed down the over grown path. A nagging feeling was grabbing at her brain but Hermione ignored it, instead focusing on the darkness around her. She really didn't like the Forbidden Forest and definitely not whilst feeling that someone was watching her.

After several minutes of walking through the darkness Sirius finally asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

Hermione rubbed her arm from where a branch hit her. "I'm sort of hoping that we stumble upon what we are supposed to find," she answered, wincing as another branch smacked onto her cheek.

"What are we looking for?"

Hermione shrugged even though Sirius couldn't see her. "I don't know but hopefully it glows."

"Why?"

"Because it will be easier to find."

Sirius shook his head but continued following closely behind her. After another painful 10 minutes, Hermione stopped and was almost bowled over by Sirius. His arms went around her before she fell and he put her feet firmly on the ground.

"Why did you stop?" He asked her softly.

Hermione grinned. "It glows," she answered and pried his arm from her and ran through the overgrowth.

Sirius sighed and raced after to her, smashing through the trees to catch up with her. He could feel the bruises emerging on his arms and legs but he ran blindly to catch Hermione. He was going to kill her from running away.

He spied Hermione running into a clearly a couple of meters away and he skidded to a halt beside her when he reached the clearing.

"I'm – going – to – kill – you!" Sirius said between breaths as he bent over with his hands on his knees. "You – idiot!"

Hermione scoffed. "Just because you're not as fit as you once were old man doesn't mean I can't run to what I see."

Sirius narrowed his eyes as he straightened his back. "Did you just call me old man?"

"I did."

He frowned. "I'm not that old."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Is that why you got tired from running?"

"When do you think was the last time I ran through an overgrowth of trees?" He asked sarcastically. "And why the hell were you running in the first place? Are you stupid?"

"Don't call me stupid," Hermione told him in a warning. "Besides, I'm surprised you didn't break a hip-"

"Hey!"

Hermione grinned. "And I was running because of that," she said, pointing to the trunk sitting in the middle of the clearing. "It's lighting the whole damn forest."

Continuing to grumble, Sirius trudged towards the trunk and tried to lift the lid. It wouldn't budge. "Stupid-" he gave it another tug "piece-" tug "of-" tug "crap!" smack.

"Sirius don't punch it," Hermione hissed at him. "You're a wizard. Use your wand."

Sirius whipped his wand from his pocket. "Thank you," he said sarcastically and blasted the lid off its hinges. "Stupid thing."

Hermione shook her head at him and knelt down to look at the contents of the trunk. A lone muggle rubber was the only thing inside it and Hermione snorted at it.

"What is it?" Sirius asked as he knelt down next to her. "And please let itbe something that screams 'You found the treasure'."

Hermione held up the rubber. "I don't think it screams treasure," Hermione said, examining it.

Sirius let out a disgruntled sigh. "What does it mean?"

Placing the rubber in her pocket, Hermione shrugged. "I think it means we go home. There isn't anything else here and I need to go talk to Harry."

"No you don't."

Hermione glared at him. "Yes I do."

"If you want to talk to him about what I think it is then no. He doesn't need to know." Sirius narrowed his eyes at her. "I won't let you fuck it up."

"Fuck what up?" Hermione asked incredulously. "It's already fucked up! That town is destroyed. There are bodies everywhere and Voldermort is getting away with it. Harry needs to know!"

"Hermione-"

Hermione crossed her arms. "Do you want me to punch you again?"

Silence.

"I think you should listen to the woman Black and everything will go fine," a voice cut through the air like ice and Hermione instantly knew who it was.

Five people stepped into the clearing, surrounding them.

"Shit," Hermione said.

"Damn right," Sirius answered.


	7. Chapter 6: Like Eating Glass

**I can't be bothered getting a quote. I'm tired but have fun reading it.**

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Growls and barks sounded through the clearing. Hermione stared at the creature that was held by a chain in disbelief. She looked at Sirius to see him staring openmouthed at it. Fuck, Hermione though.

Sirius voiced his opinion. "What the hell is this?" he asked in disbelief, looking at the werewolf with disdain. "Are you seriously thinking of setting a werewolf on us?" Sirius continued as he stared into Malfoy's cold, hard eyes and let out a snort.

"You'd best shut your mouth Black," Malfoy sneered, taking the end of the chain from the companion on his left and giving it a shake. "Wouldn't want my hand to…" he smiled maliciously "…slip."

"You're a fucking nut," Sirius told him coldly. "What ever happened to blowing holes in people's asses? What happened to using a wand?" He rolled his eyes. "No – here I am about to have a bloody werewolf attack me." He shook his head. "What is the world coming to?"

Hermione placed a hand on his chest to stop him from jumping on Malfoy. "Sirius, calm down-"

Sirius looked at her with narrowed eyes. "I think this is a situation where I can complain all I want," he shot back. "I think having a werewolf set on me is a pretty good excuse to complain!"

"Shut up Sirius," Hermione told him sharply before turning to Malfoy. "What the hell do you want Malfoy?"

Holding the chain tightly, Malfoy gave her a smile that smacked bang of complete asshole. "Now now, we have all night to talk through wants," he told her.

"I haven't got all day," Hermione answered quickly. "We have things to do, people to kill…the usual stuff. We may even have time to fight for our lives at one point tonight," she continued as she started to pick nail polish from her nails. "God knows why this stuff seems to latch itself onto me."

Sirius snorted. "You're a walking disaster Hermione. You, Ron and Harry."

"Shut up Sirius," Hermione told him.

Sirius raised a brow. "Did you tell me to shut up?"

"Sure did, do you have a problem with that?" Hermione crossed her arms across her chest.

"If you think you're going to get away with that-"

A shot of green light shut them both up. "Now that I have your attention," Malfoy said in clipped tones with his wand in his hand, "we have business to conduct."

"Look _Malfoy_, we don't know what the hell you want," Hermione bit back, "so cut the niceness and just tell us. That way we'll all be happy."

Malfoy snorted. "I doubt neither of you will be happy by the end of this night." He gave the chain another shake.

"Then what the fuck do you want?" Sirius shouted at him, his fists clenched by his sides, "Either tell us what you want or set the fucking werewolf on us now."

Malfoy raised his wand and pointed it at Hermione's head. "Both of you, sit. Now."

Falling down onto her backside, Hermione felt Sirius sit a beat later. They had to be calm and collected if they were going to get out of this, especially with the werewolf growing restless and growling a whole lot more. Hermione felt beads of sweat roll across her forehead. She raised a shaky hand and wiped the perspiration with the back of her hand as her eyes darted towards the werewolf. Luck wasn't exactly on her side tonight.

Malfoy handed the end of the chain to one of burly companions and moved across the clearing until he was a few feet away from Hermione and Sirius. "You will both listen hard and carefully," he told them with his wand loosely by his side. "I want you to both throw your wands to my feet. Now."

Hermione stifled a curse. Why hadn't she just put her hand into the pocket of her jeans and grabbed her only protection. Her eyes once again went back to the werewolf and her brain immediately blamed it on the growling creature. Yes, that was the reason she couldn't think straight.

Moments later, with Sirius' and Hermione's wands both at his feet, Malfoy smirked and put his foot on Hermione's wand. "My job would be a whole lot easier if I snapped this," he said and looked to his foot, his smirk turning into a cold smile. "I can no longer count the number of times you have wiggled from death."

Sirius snorted. "That wasn't because of Hermione's wand, it's because she's smart and your not."

Malfoy's wand pointed between Sirius' eyes. "Shut up Black or I'll kill you right now!"

"Do it," Sirius replied instantly, "because I've had enough of this shit. I've got a headache and I just want to be on my way. Or die. Either way I'll be in a better place…anything is better than looking at the ugly mug you call a face."

The ugly mug he was referring too contorted and twisted angrily. "I'm going to kill you before I die Black, mark my words I will," he said through clenched teeth and a shaky hand. "But, seeing as you care nothing for your life, I will get my information faster by doing this…" he grabbed Hermione by the hair and pulled her back to his chest. He fastened a hand around her neck and the tip of his wand to the side of her head.

Sirius narrowed his eyes.

Hermione started to splutter and gasp air.

"Tell me what I want to know, Black, or I will dispose of Miss Granger here," Malfoy threatened, squeezing Hermione's throat and making her gasp harder.

Sirius fisted her palms. "If you would tell me what you want, I would give it to you," he spat. He watched as Hermione brown eyes darted towards the other end of the clearing and he knew what she was suggesting. Turn into snuffles and save yourself. You're an idiot Hermione, he thought, as if I would leave you here to die.

Malfoy threw Hermione to the ground, watching with satisfaction as her shaken body struggled to sit up and gasp for air. He looked to Sirius and said, "So you're willing to cooperate."

"Yes," Sirius replied, looking at Hermione with a strained expression. His face was stony when his eyes met Malfoy's. "What do you want?"

Malfoy smirked. "Before Dumbledore died, he was working on a project. This project is a matter of great importance to my master. If holds to key to his future – our future. It will shape the world."

"Where do we fit into this?" Hermione asked in a breathless voice.

"When that Dumbledore died, my master has failed to retrieve the information that Dumbledore had obtained. It is hidden. But my master knows for a fact that Dumbledore would never let this information go. Even in his death, he would make sure that the right hands grab onto it, instead of it being lost forever." Malfoy eyed them curiously and continued, "And for some reason my master believes that you two are the ones Dumbledore would bestow this information on."

Sirius let out a snort. "So you have come after us on a hope that Dumbledore told us about whatever he was working on," he said before snorting again. "That's a pretty big guess."

"You were not his first guess Black so don't labor under any false pretenses," Malfoy sneered before looking pointedly. "His attack against Potter and Weasel were not just entertainment. My master thought that Potter would be the one that Dumbledore would tell but unfortunately, he wasn't."  
"So Voldermort killed Ginny," Hermione hissed, "just because he didn't get what he wanted…" she paused, her eyes widening in sudden realization. Her eyes clouded with fury as she looked up to Malfoy. "Then you and your goons came into _my _house and killed my parents." Hermione jumped to her feet and pointed her finger at him. "You wanted to make me weak and vulnerable for the next time you came to visit. You killed them in front of me so I would be so torn that _any _information would come out," her voice was laced with anger. "Is that true?" She asked before shouting, "YOU FUCKING KILLED MY PARENTS!"

Hermione lunged at Malfoy just as he raised his wand at her. A shot of yellow light flew past her ear as she tackled Malfoy to the ground, swinging her fist into his nose. She heard commotion around her; Sirius shouting, him lunging for his wand, the burly companions firing curses.

Hermione didn't care about any of it. All that mattered was making Malfoy pay courtesy of her fist. "You asshole!" She shouted at him as her third punch connected with his cheek. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Malfoy clipped her with his right fist in her eye but Hermione punched him even harder. Her anger came out in waves and her mind was completely focused on beating Malfoy to a pulp.

Well, it was completely focused until she heard one of Malfoy's companions scream, "The werewolf! Get out of here!"

A tiny part of her brain heard this but she punched Malfoy again and heard a definite _crack!_. She grinned and hoped his nose was broken. Someone pulled her off a bloody Malfoy and dragged her through the woods. They heard growls and spluttering but they were running too fast to see where they were going. They approached the edge of the wood, collapsing onto the grass when they broke free from the branches.

Sirius sat up. "Shit, please don't hit me ever again."

Breathing heavily, Hermione put her palm to her swollen eye and winced. "Do you have my wand?"

Sirius handed it to her then helped her to her feet. "It's going to be a long night," he told her as he looked towards the castle.

"Why?"

He turned back to her. "I have a feeling, from what Malfoy told us, that our next clue is in Dumbledore's office. And it involves that rubber."

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**I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry. I got back from NZ, got a job and had lots and lots of exams. This meant I couldn't update. But here it is and such a lovely chapter it is. **


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